The Paintball Association 2004
I am going to get shot for this if Gillie sees it as there's going to be an official announcement in the next couple of weeks.
There's a lot going on behind the scenes which I either can not or will not talk about in an open forum... however what I will say openly is that the PA will be running a series next year...and there's going to be a few changes...whether or not players take to them remains to be seen but those of you who know me also know my philosophy...leave the game alone, change the perception. So although in true PA style there's going to be some radical and significant changes that will hopefully raise a few eyebrows, the game itself will still be that which we all know and love...except maybe with such novel things that we threw in...like start procedures being the same on every field...and even the same at both ends of the same field...(like that one huh?)
The PA cup will be a stand-alone event in much the same way as the FA Cup is run separately from the FA League and will be open to all teams as long as they meet association criteria.
Richard is right to say that the PA cup collectively has had more media coverage than any other event in the UK and now three large organizations outside of paintball, News of the World, William Hill Bookmakers and the good old BBC now look at paintball as a sport and not a loony game played in the woods by Rambo wannabes...
I sincerely hope that we’ve set some new standards with the PA cup in 2003 and in 2004 the PA will be continuing the work we started raising those standards still further, raising the profile of the sport and heading towards our ultimate goal...but hey giving too much away here
...watch this space (and others) and all will be revealed fairly soon
